Feds criticize school discipline as harsh

The federal government issued its first guidelines on school discipline Wednesday, seeking to curb what it sees as disproportionately high expulsion and suspension rates for black and Hispanic students.

In announcing the recommendations, the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education sent a strong message to schools that discipline should promote a “safe and orderly” climate across the entire student population. While statistics on this topic don’t provide foolproof evidence of ethnic or racial discrimination, various educational and advocacy groups have long expressed concern.

“Schools also must understand their civil-rights obligations and avoid unfair disciplinary practices,” said Education Secretary Arne Duncan. “We need to keep students in class, where they can learn.”

The federal guidelines underscore efforts throughout San Diego County and California to curb excessive student discipline and address the question of ethnic disparities. Driven by state legislation, some school districts’ policies now call for suspending students as a last resort — after trying other corrective measures.

FILE - In this July 16, 2010 file photo, Attorney General Eric Holder takes part in news conference in Miami. The Obama administration is issuing new recommendations Wednesday Jan. 8, 2014 on classroom discipline that seek to end the apparent disparities in how students of different races are punished for violating school rules. Holder said the problem often stems from well intentioned "zero-tolerance" policies that too often inject the criminal justice system into the resolution of problems. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File)The Associated Press

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FILE - In this July 16, 2010 file photo, Attorney General Eric Holder takes part in news conference in Miami. The Obama administration is issuing new recommendations Wednesday Jan. 8, 2014 on classroom discipline that seek to end the apparent disparities in how students of different races are punished for violating school rules. Holder said the problem often stems from well intentioned "zero-tolerance" policies that too often inject the criminal justice system into the resolution of problems. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File)

“We were pushing students to the curb and they weren’t coming back,” said Don Buchheit, senior director of student support services for the San Diego County Office of Education. “When you simply send a student home, you don’t find out what’s behind the behavior. Are there academic problems? Problems with a student? Mental illness? Problems at home?”

Nationwide, non-disabled black students were more than three times as likely as their white peers to be expelled or suspended, according to government data for the 2011-12 academic year. Although blacks made up 15 percent of all students in the federal data collection, they accounted for more than a third of students who were suspended once, 44 percent of those suspended more than once and more than a third of students expelled.

More than half of students involved in school-related arrests or referred to law enforcement were Hispanic or black, according to the federal analysis.

Beyond the discussion of race and ethnicity, federal officials acknowledged the range of challenges that schools face in working to maintain order and safety. However, “a routine school disciplinary infraction should land a student in the principal’s office, not in a police precinct,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.

The new recommendations encourage schools to train campus personnel in classroom management, conflict resolution and various approaches for reducing classroom disruptions.

Schools in San Diego County have been working to incorporate similar training into professional-development programs during the past four years, Buchheit said. A report due out this summer will track changes to school discipline based on that training and subsequent implementation, he said.

Among the county’s 42 districts, Hispanics represented 44 percent of students and accounted for 57 percent of expulsions in the 2009-10 academic year, according to data released from the U.S. Department of Education’s civil-rights office. That same year, black students accounted for 6 percent of enrollment and made up 12 percent of expulsions.

San Diego Unified, California’s second-largest school district, adopted its “uniform discipline policy” in September 2012. That standard seeks to ensure equity in student punishments, better staff training and close monitoring of data on student discipline.

“There are a lot of elements in the (federal) guidelines that are very similar to what we have in our uniform discipline policy,” said Joe Fulcher, San Diego Unified’s chief student services officer. “All students have a right to a high-quality education, and that means we don’t exclude them from the classroom unless there is a major safety concern.”

For San Diego Unified in 2009-10, blacks represented about 12 percent of students and made up more than 25 percent of suspensions. Approximately 46 percent of students were Hispanic that same year, and they accounted for more than 58 percent of suspensions.

Meanwhile, the Escondido Union High School District’s discipline records for 2009-10 showed that Hispanics made up 62 percent of students and accounted for 80 percent of suspensions. Since then, the district has been working to curb all expulsions and suspensions through new “restorative justice” programs, which are designed to help students understand the root of their behavioral problems and avoid harsh punishments.

The district has also stepped up collaboration with the city’s elementary school district, which added social workers on its campuses, said Barbara Gauthier, director of interventions for the Escondido Union High district.

The Poway Unified School District, where Hispanic students made up 11 percent of the student body and accounted for 43 percent of expulsions in 2011, added counselors to its elementary schools this year as another measure of student support. The district has reviewed the government’s new guidelines, “and is pleased to see the proactive approach for student discipline included among them,” said spokeswoman Jessica Wakefield.

“Our secondary principals engage in continuous conversations on cultural proficiency and strategies to close the (ethnic and racial) disparity,” she said.

The government initiative advises schools to distinguish between disciplinary infractions best handled by campus officials compared with major safety threats. Schools are also encouraged to collect and review data that security or police officers take to ensure nondiscrimination.

The recommendations are essentially nonbinding. Still, the Obama administration has previously said school districts should employ equitable student discipline policies or face sanctions.

Last year, the U.S. Justice Department led a settlement in the Meridian, Miss., school district that called for an end to discriminatory disciplinary practices. Black students there were facing harsher punishments than whites for similar offenses, according to documents in the case.